Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-01-28
CONGRESSIONAL.
The Senate Spends Considerable Time
on the W0man's Suffrage ResOlu.
ton, which is Defeated.
The House Adopts the Majority Report in
the Rhode Island Contested Election
Case Declaring a Vacancy.
XIX CONGRESS.

nois, escorted by Senator Cullom, had tn
oath of office administered to him by tn
presiding officer, and took the seat re
Gently occupied by Senator Cullom, while
the latter took that Of the late Senate
Logan.
Senator Dawes from the conference com
mittee on the bill to provide for the ellot
ment of lands in severallY to the Indians
on the various reservations and to extend
the protection Of the laws of the United
States and of the territories over the In
dams, made q report and after some ex
planation,the report was agreed to.
Seastor Blair moved to lay aside IN.
faisasd business and take up the p-opos
ed .FS@omau's suffrage constitutional
Carried by % to lG.
Before proceeding with the co1sidera-
tioa OF the suffrage resolution the chair
affixed his signature to the inter state
commerce bill.
The following Is the text of the pr o.
posed amendment: "The right of citi-
| zens of the United States to vote shall
not be denied o. abridged by the United
1 States, or by any state, on account of sex.
| Congress snail have power by appropri-
ate legislation to enforce the provisions
OF this article"
| Senator Brown addressed the senate in
opposition. He said woman now eXer-
clsed an imperceptible influence in public
affairs much greater than she could if
| female suffrage were enacted. 1t might
| be a qualification to small minority of
women, but it would be cruelty to 3
large majority. The most ignorant and
| less IT fined portions of the female pOpu-
/
better classes, would flock to
the polls, while the refined, intelligent
and virtuous women would stay at home,
and thus there would be vast prepon-
derance of ignorance and vice at the
polls. Things were bad enough now in
that connection. Was the Senate ready
to expose women to such decentralization,
and the country 10 such strain, in order
merely to crafty small minority at the
expense of modification to large ma
jority who regarded the movement as an
attempt to reverse the very laws of being?
Senator Dolph favored the resolution.
The stage of ridicule of the movement
WAS past. This resolution might not
pass, but the time was not far distant
when in every stste and territory women
would be admitted to an equal voice
eral constitution be amended or not.
No measure involving such radical changes
in society had made such great progress
as the woman suffrage movement since
the first convention in favor of it was held
in 1878 at Niagara Falls, n. Y.
Senator Eustis inquired of Senator
Dolph whether ne did not think that if
woman had the right of suffrage she ought
/,
Senator D6lph said that it did not
necessarily ollow. There was no con-
nection between Jury service and the
right Of Suffrage. But in Washington
Territory, where women had the right of
suffrage, they also served on juries, to
the great satisfaction OF judges and law
yers.
Senator Eustis understood that under
all state laws those duties were considered
corelative He asked whether it was
decent spectacle to take away mother
from her nursing infant and keep her u
all night on 3 jury.
Senator Dolph replied there was moth
ing in that suggestion, because no woman
under such circumstances would be re-
quiged to serve on jury. In conclusion
he said: "God speed the day when, not
OulY III iii lllC slhLCS anu ltlLl JuN
everywhere, women shall stand before
the law freed from the shackles riVeted
on her by tyranny and by ignorance, not
only in relation TO the right OF suffrage,
but in relation to every other right"
Senator Vest spoke in opposition to
the woman suffrage resolution.
Senator Blair made an argument in
aVUr OF it.
a vote was taken on the resolution,
and it was rejected; yeas l6, nays "a.
On motion of Senator Mahore bills for
public buildings were taken + I'm the cal
lendar and passed as follow >: To com
plete the building at Santa Fe, n. NJ, not
exceeding S52 I2S.
ApproprIatlng 100000 for site and
building at Chattanooga, Tenn.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 26.-The credentials
for he full term, commencing March 4,
1887, were presented and placed on file.
Among the bills reported and placed on
the calendar was oLe by Senator Miller
from thu committee on agriculture, Great
ing g department of the government to be
known as the department OF agriculture.
One by Senator Eustis from the COM
mittee on epidemic diseases authorizing
the removal of the quarantine station
from Ship Island, Miss.
Senators Hoar, Frye snd Pugh were
Appointed committee on conference on
the act relating to contested elections.
. The Senate proceeded to consideration
OF the resolution reported yesterday oy
Senator HOar lnstructing the committee
on privileges and elections to investigate
the allegations made by three residents
of Washington county, Tex, as to their
being driven from their homes and com
PEELED to abandon their property and de-
prived of the right of suffrage in that
county.
Senator Coke opposed the resolution.
He was not averse, nor was the state OF
Texas, to sny Investigation of charges
properly made against the state involving
a subject over which Congress had iuris-
diction, but he protested that the proposed
Investigation was INTO subject not
within the jurisdiction Of Congress. The
stste of Texas had state autonomy, her
constitution and laws were in full force
and operation, she could redress all
grievances, personal or otherwise, &C.
curing within her borders. The subject
was one peculiarly within the jurisdiction
of the state, and the resolution was al
iutermeddling with something belonging
solely to the state and outside
of the jurisdiction of the general
government. He gave history
ST the case TO the effect that respectable
white Democrat had oeen shot by col
5fed man at the polls near Brennan,
Tex; that three colored men had been
arrested and placed in jsil charged with
Shat crime; that mob had taken them
out of jail and hanged them; that the
three petitioners Hackworth, Moore
and Schultz, who had been promi-
nent in influencing and melting
the negro population there had supposed
their lives to be in danger and hsd fed
the country. Thst was all there was IN
it. He has to-day received q telegram
f-o,-, N q EiGdinns OF Rrenham. for